Hi Jack -
My observations of the left wing were always while it was perched. The injury
you describe is consistent with what I saw, and I think, with what I wrote. I
am glad you got a more detailed picture. If any more show up, this injury
should let us distinguish this individual.
My information on sex is from Peter Pyle 2008. Identification Guide to North
American Birds. Vol II. Pyle wrote for AHY/ASY (i.e. all except hatch year)
females "Unfeathered facial skin yellowish (with distinct dusky patch distal to
eye), not contrasting markedly with bill color (Fig 232A), crown auriculars,
and breast dark chocolate in all populations; legs and feet yellowish."
For AHY/ASY males "Unfeathered facial skin (including lores) uniformly greenish
to bluish gray or dark bluish, contrasting with color of bill (Fig232B); "crown
and auriculars whitish and breast medium brown to whitish in e. Pacific
populations (including S.l. brewsteri); legs and feet greenish."
Figure 232 is a drawing of heads in side view. In the male, the eye is embedded
in a band of fairly dark skin. On the mandible, the boundary between pale and
dark is about even with the back edge of the eye. In the female, the eye +
dusky loral spot are pretty much surrounded by pale skin, and on the mandible,
the pale extends well back past the eye.
The birds moving up the Pacific Coast are assumed to be from the Pacific coast
of Mexico, hence subspecies brewsteri, where adult males have whitish crowns,
etc. Alternatively, they could come from Hawaii, where the facial skin
differences would still make this a female.
Wayne
From: "Jack Williamson" <jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Wayne Hoffman" <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>
Cc: "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2015 6:50:51 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: more on Newport Brown Booby
Forgive me for not also agreeing with your observation of the left wing.
The tertials and secondaries (12 through 9 or 8, and maybe even 7) are either
missing or damaged.
But the bird flies and dives for food very well - we watched it evade
aggressive encounters with gulls while it made several (unsuccessful) plunges
into the bay for prey.
I hope that I am coming off in this string has helpful and not combative.
Jack Williamson
West Linn, Oregon
On Sun, Oct 25, 2015 at 6:16 PM, Jack Williamson < jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx
wrote:
